As the crowd departed, silence returned to the surroundings.
Time slowly passed in this silence, and the bright moon overhead gradually shifted its angle. Ubuyashiki sat peacefully in his seat, resting with eyes closed.
He didn't know how long had passed when a slight breeze suddenly brushed past his ears.
In this wind, there was also some cold and terrifying aura, making one's spine chill.
*Boom!*
Before Ubuyashiki could even open his eyes to look, two Demon Slayer corpses fell from the night sky, heavily crashing onto the flat open ground before him, stirring up countless clouds of dust.
Following this came a pleasant, smiling young woman's voice.
"Such a large residence, yet you only arranged these two gatekeepers?
I really don't know whether I should find you ignorant now, or be angry that you look down on me?
Well, just a joke, please don't take it to heart.
I am quite certain that since you've planned for so long before and after to draw me out, you absolutely wouldn't make this final concluding stage so careless.
Am I right, respected leader of the Demon Slayer Corps, Mr. Ubuyashiki?"
Light as a feather, Mitsuba's figure quietly descended from the night sky, her long hair flowing loose. Her movements were elegant and light, like a spirit beneath the moon.
And beside Mitsuba's feet, those two Demon Slayer corpses had already completely withered—clearly, the flesh and blood beneath their skin had been drained.
"..."
Rewinding time to that morning, in another of Ubuyashiki's residences, the Flame Hashira was discussing the operational details of tonight's subjugation plan with Tamayo.
"Mr. Flame Hashira, the special poison I developed has just been completely injected into those two swordsmen."
"Thank you for your hard work, Miss Tamayo."
Watching Tamayo walk over and sit down before him, the Flame Hashira ultimately still couldn't resist asking that question he cared about most.
"Miss Tamayo, how certain are you that Tsugikuni Mitsuba will devour those two swordsmen tonight?"
Regarding the crucial step of how to poison Tsugikuni Mitsuba, Tamayo adopted an indirect poisoning method: first selecting two Demon Slayers who volunteered to sacrifice themselves, injecting her specially developed wisteria poison into their bodies.
Then finding an opportunity to let Tsugikuni Mitsuba devour them, ultimately achieving the poisoning objective.
Under the premise of being unable to approach Tsugikuni Mitsuba's vicinity, while simultaneously making it impossible for her to willingly consume poison, this was already the only feasible method Tamayo could think of.
"Regarding this point, I have envisioned two situations."
Facing the Flame Hashira's inquiry, Tamayo slowly spoke:
"The first is that Tsugikuni Mitsuba arrives at the residence and directly kills the two Demon Slayers at the entrance, conveniently draining the flesh and blood from their bodies—this is the most ideal situation.
The second is that she ignores these two Demon Slayers and charges straight toward Mr. Ubuyashiki in the residence.
In this situation, we must have these two Demon Slayers actively initiate attacks against Tsugikuni Mitsuba, forcing her to make a move to kill them and devour their flesh and blood..."
"Why is Miss Tamayo certain that after killing those two swordsmen, Tsugikuni Mitsuba will definitely devour their flesh and blood?"
"I cannot guarantee that she definitely will, but I do have this confidence."
Regarding the Flame Hashira's confusion, Tamayo provided a detailed explanation.
"First, Tsugikuni Mitsuba particularly prefers devouring the flesh and blood of Demon Slayers—this point has never changed over the past decades.
Second, according to past records of the Demon Slayer Corps, Tsugikuni Mitsuba's feeding frequency and timing are extremely stable.
She feeds once every month at fixed intervals, and each time is between the 15th and 20th of the month—without exception.
And today, happens to be the 14th of this month..."
"So that's how it was!"
Instantly understanding, the Flame Hashira subconsciously spoke:
"So, Miss Tamayo, the reason you specifically had that wealthy merchant notify Tsugikuni Mitsuba today was to disrupt her feeding this month?"
"Exactly."
Tamayo nodded, speaking in a deep voice:
"Today is the 14th of this month. Nearly a month has passed since Tsugikuni Mitsuba's last feeding.
Theoretically speaking, at this moment, Tsugikuni Mitsuba is exactly at her relatively most 'weakened' state during this period.
Mr. Flame Hashira, let us make an assumption. If you were Tsugikuni Mitsuba.
If you were to face such a situation, when you have already anticipated that a battle long planned by Demon Slayers will likely occur next.
Having not fed for nearly a month, would you choose to make a small supplement to your physical strength before the battle?"
Listening to Tamayo's rhetorical question, the Flame Hashira didn't immediately answer, because he noticed another piece of information revealed in Tamayo's words.
"Miss Tamayo believes that Tsugikuni Mitsuba has actually already realized that all of this is a trap we set?"
"Mr. Flame Hashira, the enemy we will face tonight is, for humans, the most terrifying and dangerous one. I hope you harbor no wishful thinking."
Seriously reminding the Flame Hashira once more, Tamayo replied earnestly:
"I cannot completely confirm that Tsugikuni Mitsuba has definitely detected this. I only believe there is this possibility.
Therefore, considering the worst-case scenario, regardless of whether she has any awareness of our actions, I will use this as the premise to arrange our subjugation plan."
"In Miss Tamayo's view, is Tsugikuni Mitsuba the type of character who, even knowing there's a trap, will definitely step into it?"
"Regarding this point, I am quite certain."
This time, Tamayo gave a very affirmative answer.
Recalling that brief journey with Mitsuba nearly a hundred years ago in her mind, she said:
"This is not only because she possesses, for humans, a Blood Demon Art so powerful it's almost impossible to defeat.
More importantly, her personality is extremely similar to Kibutsuji Muzan's. They are both equally arrogant and conceited, equally convinced of their own strength.
Therefore, when facing Demon Slayers who appear incomparably weak in their eyes, even knowing it's a trap, they will definitely step into it.
Because in their cognition, they always firmly believe that no matter what kind of trap it is, they can definitely rely on their own powerful strength to flatten it!
Therefore, Tsugikuni Mitsuba will definitely come!
Tonight, she absolutely will not be absent!"
As her words fell, the room was silent for a moment.
Tamayo looked at the Flame Hashira before her, who had once again fallen into silence.
"But as I said before, all steps in my plan are only confident predictions, not absolutes.
Even though I have planned out the most suitable environment, Tsugikuni Mitsuba may not necessarily act according to my predictions.
Perhaps, she just happened to change her taste this month and fed on other humans in advance.
Perhaps, she is truly so arrogant that even knowing there's a trap, she disdains supplementing her strength before battle.
Or perhaps, she has now become extremely cautious and chose to come together with other powerful demons.
No matter how detailed we plan, these uncontrollable risks are things we cannot eliminate.
Therefore, Mr. Flame Hashira, I can now clearly tell you that I do not have absolute confidence in the success of this Tsugikuni Mitsuba subjugation plan.
On the contrary, in my view, even though we have planned to such detailed extent, the probability of failure tonight is still greater than the probability of success.
Moreover, regardless of whether our subjugation plan succeeds tonight, your Lord Ubuyashiki—who is also the bait—will very likely lose his life because of this.
This is a gamble, Mr. Flame Hashira.
We are gambling on Tsugikuni Mitsuba's arrogance, gambling that she will definitely choose that possibility most favorable to us among thousands of possibilities.
This is itself an extremely insane act. While there is still time, if you wish to regret, I will immediately stop everything..."
"There's no need."
Facing Tamayo's final warning, the Flame Hashira didn't even hesitate. He merely shook his head calmly, his gaze firm.
"In this subjugation operation, whether it's Lord Ubuyashiki or us swordsmen, we all have the resolve to face death.
Miss Tamayo, proceed with everything according to your plan..."
---
(Giving up meow~)
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